A Conman's Legacy
by BunBunBabe
Summary: Part I of the Risking it all series   Neal returns home from his year away to find some pleasant and not so plesant surprises are waiting for him.  must read worth the risk series first to get the premise of the story
1. Chapter 1

** I don't own blah blah blah here is the new series of the white collar stories, that everyone has been waiting for. Twists and turns abound... I would like to thank my fans for their reviews past and future ones and I hope you enjoy this story And now for chapter 1 of A Conman's Legacy and the first story in the Risking it All series.  
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**Chapter 1: Returning Home**

Neal walked down the tunnel from the airplane with his brother beside him. "It feels so good to be home after a year, it's not that I didn't enjoy the concert but being away from everyone here for so long really was hard," Neal remarked as they entered the terminal. Nick chuckled as he looked around for his wife. "You just miss the sex, admit it a year without sex was hard," Nick said with a smile as he spotted Catherine standing by the windows with Peter beside her. Neal smiled when he saw his friend and lover standing there waiting for him. As they got closer Neal threw his arms around Peter's neck and hugged him. "I missed you so much, I know we talked often but it wasn't the same," Neal said as he slowly let Peter go and stood in front of him. Peter looked Neal over and smiled. "Your hair is still long and what's with the facial hair?" Peter asked as he looked at the newly growing circle beard around Neal's mouth.

"Don't worry I'm getting rid of it, I just got too lazy near the end of the tour we all kind of did so we wanted to see who could grow one the fastest, it was pretty dead even so we just left them for the last few weeks is all. Before the jet lag sets in can we go I want to shower and just sleep all night," Neal said giving a small stretch. Catherine laughed softly and looked away when Neal looked at her, he was curious to know why his sister-in-law was laughing at what he said. Looking at Peter he saw he was trying not to smile as well. Beyond curious at that point Neal opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off by his brother. "Well Cat and I are going to go, I'll see you two at work in a couple days, don't keep him up too late Burke he gets jet lagged easily and needs to sleep," Nick said as he led his wife away leaving his brother and his lover alone.

Peter smiled again and looked Neal over once more and took his bag from him. "Your luggage arrived in the mail two days ago I'm glad you sent it on ahead I want to get you home right now you look dead on your feet," Peter remarked as he led Neal through the JFK terminal and out into the parking lot where his car was parked. Getting into the car Neal looked at Peter and watched him for a moment as he started up the car. "You know what I'm going to ask you right?" Neal asked as he got comfortable in the car. Peter looked over at the younger man before turning his eyes back to the road. "Yes, you want to know what decision I made after thinking things over for a year, and who I chose in the end," Peter said as he glanced at Neal out of the corner of his eye, a mixture of impatient and worry written on his tired face. Reaching over with one hand he took Neal's hand in his and pulled it up and kissed the back of it. "Who do you think I chose?" he asked with a smirk.

Looking down at their still clasped hands Neal swallowed hard and looked up again. "So how did Elizabeth take it that you were choosing me over her?" Neal asked in a worried tone. "She and I divorced six months ago and we're still very good friends; actually I just had her over for lunch the other day, she even helped with your surprise as did June and Dante," Peter said as he took a turn that led away from June's and headed toward his place. Neal watched as the familiar neighborhood came into to view. As the car pulled up to one house Neal looked out the window before turning to Peter quickly. "What are we doing here?" Neal asked looking at the house he had gotten in his divorce from his ex husband Kyle. "We live here. Well as far as the FBI is concerned you live here now and I'm staying here until I can save up enough money to get my own place, just give it a chance we worked hard to change what it looked like so you won't even recognize the place I swear," Peter said as he turned the car off and walked around the front and opened the passenger door for Neal.

Grabbing Neal's hand gently Peter led him up the stairs and into the house. Feeling nervous about entering the house Neal held back for a second in the foyer. "Trust me…everything is going to be alright Neal, besides I think you're going to like what we did with the place," Peter remarked as he led his lover inside and heard him gasp lightly at the interior of the house. Neal smiled at the how it now felt like a home instead of a nightmare like it had when he lived there with Kyle. "I thought I heard your voices down here," Alex said as she walked down the stairs toward Neal and Peter. Neal smiled as he looked his sometimes friend and fence over. "There is something different about you, but I just can't put my finger on it," Neal remarked as he looked Alex over again trying to figure out what was different about the young woman.

"Why don't you come upstairs I have something to show you," she said taking Neal by the hand and pulling him toward the stairs. Letting himself be dragged up the stairs Neal could hear the faint tinkling of music coming from the smaller bedroom. "He should be waking up from his nap soon, but I thought you would like to see him before he wakes up," Alex whispered as she opened the door revealing a beautifully designed nursery. Neal felt himself being led over to the ornate crib. Moving slowly Neal looked over the railing at the sleeping infant. Alex walked over and reached into the crib and placed her hand on the infant's chest and rubbed it softly. "Neal I'd like you to meet Jayden Michael Caffrey… your son," Alex said with a smile.

Neal froze and stood up straighter. "My…my son, but… how… oh" Neal remarked as he remembered the weekend a year before. "So…I'm a dad… I'm a… dad," Neal mumbled before fainting and hitting the ground hard. Alex sighed and moved from the crib to the doorway. "Hey Peter…he fainted you owe me a hundred bucks," Alex called downstairs with a smirk on her lips. Peter walked upstairs and entered the nursery with a pair of fifties in his hand. After handing the money over Peter walked over to Neal and crouched down and lifted Neal up into his arms, it was at that moment Peter was glad Neal worked out and was so light. Putting him to bed Peter returned to the nursery. "Well I should be going my plane leaves in two hours; you'll explain everything to Neal when he wakes up right?" Alex asked as she grabbed her bag from the corner of the room. Peter nodded as Alex left the room and walked out of the house.

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><p>Peter made his way into the master bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Neal to wake. Groaning softly Neal slowly opened his eyes and saw his lover sitting beside him. "Hey I was wondering if you were going to wake up any time soon," Peter remarked as he slowly got up. Neal sat up slowly and looked around the room to see how it had been redecorated. "You never gave me a welcome home kiss yet," Neal remarked as he leaned toward Peter only to be stopped by a hand on his chest. "Shave that thing off first, it just doesn't suit you at all," Peter said as he gave Neal a playful shove toward the bathroom. Huffing loudly Neal went in and began to trim the hair down short enough so he could shave.<p>

When he was finished Neal walked out of the bathroom and found Peter sitting on the bed with Jayden in his arms awake. Moving over quietly Neal sat down and watched his son. "Here… this is long over do, but Neal Caffrey I would like to properly introduce you to your son Jayden Michael Caffrey," Peter said as he handed Jayden over to Neal. Holding his son in his arms Neal felt an instant bond to the infant. "My son…he's beautiful," Neal said softly while looking into his son's eyes. Peter bit his bottom lip before leaning down and catching Neal in a soft kiss and just as they pulled apart Jayden began to cry.

"I know that cry…somebody needs to be changed," Peter remarked as he took Jayden from Neal and brought him into the nursery and began to go through the steps to change his diaper. Neal walked into the nursery and looked at the furniture. "This is really cherry, it's all hand carved, June got them for Jayden when he was born," Peter said as he finished changing Jayden. Neal ran his fingers over the railing of the crib. "So where did Alex go?" he asked noticing there was no sign of his son's mother. "She left; Alex and I talked a couple weeks ago. She knew her lifestyle wasn't safe for Jayden so she wants us to raise him and give him a good life. She said she would visit when she had a job nearby," Peter explained as he picked Jayden up and held him close.

Neal walked over and stood before Peter. "Do you remember when you asked me what I would give up being a con artist for, well this is it… a family of my own, a kid, a house of my own and someone who I can love unconditionally," Neal remarked as he watched his son in the arms of the man he loved. Peter smiled. "I have a confession to make, I had a feeling you would say that and I don't want you to give up what you love to do, it won't make you happy so don't give it up just yet," Peter admitted as he moved around Neal and put Jayden back in his crib. "I'm going to change and then I'm going to go downstairs and get a glass of wine and just collapse on the couch," Neal remarked as he pulled his shirt off over his head. Walking into the master bedroom Neal tossed his shirt on the floor and made his way over to the dresser and found a loose band shirt and a pair of thin pants.

After changing Neal made his way downstairs and found Peter on the couch watching the sports channel. Peter looked up and smirked. "Even dressed like that you still look so pulled together…except for that hair, you are going to get it cut aren't you?" he asked as Neal sat beside him and snuggled against his shoulder. "Yeah… I only grew it out for the tour so I would be harder to recognize by possible enemies, that was my brother's only condition for safety." Neal remarked as he fiddled with his now past shoulder length hair. "So how has work been?" Neal asked as he closed his eyes to listen to Peter's words.

"Work's been good, but there is something we need to talk about I wanted to tell you sooner but Nick didn't want to scare you, about six months ago Keller and Kyle broke out of prison and dropped off FBI radar. We have no idea where they could be. Before you say anything I had all the locks changed on the doors and a state of the art security system installed," Peter said as he put a protective arm around Neal and held him. "You are safe here; I'm not going to let anything happen to you or Jayden," he said softly as he pulled Neal closer and kissed the top of his head. Neal sat up and looked down at Peter with a serious look on his face. "Promise me… you need to promise me they aren't getting near us Peter, having my ex-husband and ex-partner running around free is not a comforting thought," Neal said softly as he tried hard not to imagine Peter or Jayden being hurt.

Peter sat up and put his hands on either side of Neal's face and put his forehead against Neal's and looked into his eyes. "I promise, no one will harm either of you," Peter said as he leaned in and kissed Neal. As they pulled away Jayden began to cry over the baby monitor. Holding his hand out Neal sat back. "I'll get him, I need to start getting used to being a dad," Neal said with a smile as he rose from the couch and walked upstairs into the nursery. "Hey Jayden…come here…" Neal said his voice being picked up by the baby monitor in the room. Peter smiled as he listened to Neal talk to Jayden and tell him all about his adventures while being a con man.

After a few minutes Peter noticed Neal's voice getting softer. Curious Peter rose from the couch and went upstairs to find Neal had fallen asleep in the high backed reclining nursery chair that Elizabeth had bought them. Smiling at the sight Peter took Jayden and brought him back down stairs and sat him up a bit in his arms so they could watch the game together. Jayden nuzzled against Peter as he fell asleep in the crook of his arm his little lips wrapped around his thumb.

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><p>"You had a nice place…too bad you lost it," Keller said as he jammed his hands into his pockets as he stood across the street from the townhouse Neal and Peter now called home. "The house is one thing I'm more upset about losing my punching bag I'm displeased at the fact that he thinks he can just walk away from me and their won't be any repercussions," Kyle said as he lit a cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke. Kyle looked to his right to a man wearing a leather jacket. "I'm paying you good money to watch them and not be seen, I want you to keep detailed records of their schedules for a week," Kyle said as he pulled and envelope out of his coat and tossed it to the man. "That's ten thousand, you'll get the fifty thousand when the job is done," he said as he walked off with Keller at his side.<p>

The man in the jacket walked away and got into his car and waited. His military training had prepared him for long hours of waiting and watching. Getting comfortable he watched. He watches as the day fades into the night and the lights downstairs go off and turn back on upstairs. By ten-thirty the house is dark. Waiting until morning the man stayed alert.

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><p>As the sun rose he looked at his watch and takes out a notebook and began to take notes. Peter yawned as he walked out of the house and grabbed the paper on the steps. Neal came out behind him with a jogging stroller and his son already strapped in. "I'm going to jog around the park for a while, you'll probably be gone before I get back so I'll call you later and remember be careful today," Neal said before giving Peter a quick peck on the cheek and taking off across the street and down the sidewalk to the park. When he entered the park Neal smiled at the scenery before he began to jog down the paved path.<p>

_This feels so great, back to my old routine, a good morning jog and I get to spend all day with Jayden since I have the next two days off to get back into the swing of things…_ Neal thought as he ran down the empty path unaware that he was being followed and watched. After reaching the end of the path Neal turned around and ran the same path back home. Neal smiled at Jayden as he carried the stroller back inside and took Jayden out of the stroller and put him into his bassinet on the table. Pulling his shirt off over his head Neal dropped onto the couch to rest from his jog. _After I'm rested I'll do a little cleaning, some painting if I can get to it._ Neal thought as he stared up at the ceiling. After a moment Neal got up from the couch and checked on his son before walking into the kitchen and getting himself a glass of water.

Walking out of the kitchen Neal returned to the living room and walked over to the window and tied the curtains back so he could let the sun light in. Looking out the window Neal smiled at the view of the park in front of his house. He looked at the trees poking over the stone wall of the park boarder. Letting his eyes drift he felt like he was being watched. Glancing down the sidewalk Neal couldn't see anyone but the feeling of being watched was getting stronger. Leaving the window Neal made sure the front and back doors were locked.

Letting out a small laugh he walked over to the stairs and sat down for a moment. "I'm just being paranoid, there's no one watching me…" Neal said softly. Just then the doorbell rang making Neal nearly jump out of his skin. Walking to the door he pulled the front door open to reveal Sara Ellis wearing an expensive looking off white skirt and suit jacket with a red top underneath. "Neal… I wasn't expecting you here, I've got files here for Burke, where should they go?" she asked glancing over Neal's shoulder at the interior of the house. "It all goes in the living room by the front windows, just don't make too much noise please." Neal requested as he walked back a couple steps to let Sara into his home.

"Why are you trying to keep the neighbors from knowing you're here stealing something?" Sara asked as she led two men carrying four boxes each into the living room. "Funny did you think of that yourself? I asked you keep quite so-" Neal was cut off by the sound of Jayden starting to cry. Leaving Sara's side Neal walked over to the bassinet on the table and picked Jayden up. Sighing Neal put Jayden's head against his shoulder and shushed softly hoping to calm him down.

Once Sara and her men were done Neal sat on the couch and looked at his son and stuck his tongue out at him to make him laugh. Jayden giggled and hit Neal's nose with his small hand. "I'm going to keep you safe always, and Peter will protect both of us because we are a family," Neal said softly as he kept Jayden safely in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is Chapter 2 I hope you enjoy and please read and review I want to thank my fans and Peppe for betaing my stories yet again.  
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**Chapter 2: Family Time**

The rest of the day moved by with little excitement, Neal loved it he spent every moment he could with Jayden talking to him or watching him sleep. After putting Jayden in his bassinet Neal went to work on dinner. When he finished he heard the front door open. "You're just in time, dinner just finished cooking," Neal said as he walked out of the kitchen. Peter smirked as he pushed Neal up against the bookcase. "I haven't seen you all day," Peter said with a smirk. "If missing work for one day makes you act like this then what are you going to do to me when I'm done with my work release program?" Neal asked with a smirk that earned him a light shove against the book case. "Who says you're ever going to finish I'm going to pin every crime in history on you so you can never escape," Peter said with a smirk.

Neal smirked "That would be against the law to falsely imprison me," he whispered with an equally devilish smirk. Just then the phone rang; Peter sighed as he slowly let Neal go and went to pick up the phone. Neal walked into the kitchen and pulled the glass baking dish out of the oven and brought it to the set table. When the phone call ended Peter sat at the table and looked at Neal. "That was my mother she wants me to come visit for the weekend. I managed to get you an invitation as well saying you can't be left to your own devices here in the city, so she said you can come and she'll lock the silver up," Peter said as he sat at the table.

"Did she really say that, or are you just making it up?"Neal said as he got a serving spoon from the kitchen drawer. "Okay she didn't say all that, she said she wants to meet you, I still haven't told them about us, I don't know how to," Peter said as he took the spoon from Neal and put it by the food. Neal sat down and looked at Peter. "Well let me ask you something, do you love me?" Neal asked as he began to serve himself. Peter froze in mid step on the way back to the kitchen for a beer. "Of course I do, I've loved you for quite a while now and I've loved Jayden since the second he was born. It's just telling them about us, I don't know what to say so they won't hate you," Peter said as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Once he returned Peter sat across from Neal and looked at him. "If you just sit them down and tell them I think they'll respect that more, now let's eat before it gets cold," Neal said as he served himself some artesian style macaroni and cheese.

Peter smiled and opened his beer, "I see Sara stopped by and dropped the boxes off, if you get a chance can you look at them we could use an extra pair of eyes. This case is on the top priority along with trying to locate where Keller and Kyle is. Hughes said if you want he can put an FBI guard on the house for a while," Peter said as he took the spoon from Neal. "No it's fine, I have you Peter and besides I know you're going to find them before they get close at all," Neal remarked as he started to eat.

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><p>Once dinner was finished Neal put the leftovers away and poured himself a glass of wine before going to the couch to join Peter who was looking over the case files that had been dropped off. "So tell me about the case, who is the new mouse you're after?" Neal asked with a smirk. "We don't have a name…yet, all we know is he's older than the usual guys we go after, from the description we keep getting he's early forties dirty blonde or sandy brown hair. He's cleaning people out and we can't seem to figure out how he's doing it," Peter said as he slipped his arm around Neal's waist and pulled him close.<p>

"He sounds sexy," Neal said as he finished off his wine. Peter grabbed the glass from Neal and put it on the only clear spot of the coffee table. Grabbing Neal he pulled him onto his lap. "So you think he's sexy do you? Well I'll just have to make you take back that statement won't I?" Peter asked as he gripped Neal's waist hard with both hands to keep him in place. "I guess you'll just have to try, but I'm going to call Elizabeth to see if she can babysit tonight," Neal said trying to hide his excitement as he leaned over and grabbed the phone from the cradle. Dialing her number Neal waited for Elizabeth to pick up.

When the other line picked up Neal leaned away from Peter to keep from being interrupted. "Hey Elizabeth I was just wondering if you could come over and take Jayden for the night so Peter and I could have some time alone?" Neal asked as he tried to ignore Peter's hands moving up his chest. "Sure I'll be right over," Elizabeth said before hanging up. Peter slowly pushed Neal off him and stood up. "Go get Jayden ready, I'll wait for you in our room," he said as he jogged up the stairs and walked into the master bedroom. Walking upstairs Neal packed a diaper bag with a few things. After Elizabeth arrived Neal kissed Jayden goodbye and promised to pick him up early the next day.

The second the front door closed Neal locked the front and back door and strolled upstairs. Walking into the bedroom Neal crawled onto the bed and looked at Peter. "Now my big bad agent fell asleep waiting, maybe he's getting too old," Neal remarked as he leaned over Peter and leaned down to kiss him. Opening his eyes from his feigned sleep Peter grabbed Neal by the back of the neck and pulled him into a breath stealing kiss before pulling away. "Seems like someone is jealous that I said someone else is sexy," Neal remarked as he was pinned to the bed. Peter smirked and slid his hands down Neal's chest. "Even though you're a parent now you still have a great body," Peter mumbled with a smirk. Neal laughed as he slid his leg up the side of Peter's leg.

"Of course I have a great body I work out," Neal replied with a smirk as he kissed him quickly and pulled away to tease him. Just as he went to retaliate Peter heard his phone ring on the nightstand. Reaching over Peter picked up his phone. "Yes sir, I'll be in early tomorrow, and I'll make sure that Neal is there also, yes… of course, so what was taken and how much?" Peter asked as he kept Neal pinned to the bed with his free hand. Reaching up Neal pulled Peter down on top of him while he talked on the phone.

Smirking at his plan Neal placed a line of kisses down Peter's neck to his collar bone. Peter bit his lip as he listened to Hughes on the other end. "Well that is a lot of money missing, but I'm going to go to bed sir so I can be full of energy tomorrow, good night sir," Peter said before hanging up. Neal smirked and let his lover go. "You're not really going to bed are you?" he asked pouting a bit. "No I just said that to get him to let me go before he found out about us since you were about to make me make a sound," he replied as he kissed Neal again before trailing his kisses down Neal's bare chest. Squirming under Peter's touch Neal moaned softly as each kiss was placed.

"You know… I missed this… a year without you was hard, the video emails helped but I missed being held by you," Neal said as he tried to keep a level head. Peter sat up and looked down at Neal. "Those videos made me crazy I could talk to you but I couldn't hold you or kiss you," Peter said as he leaned down and placed a kiss on the tip of Neal's nose. "If I go on another tour I'm taking you and Jayden with me so I don't have to worry about being alone," Neal whispered as he looked up at his lover. Peter smirked "I know that would be nice but I have to work you know that, who else would catch the bad guys if I left?" Peter asked with a smirk.

Neal nodded and kissed Peter once more. "So full of yourself… that's why I love you so much," Neal said as he worked on removing Peter's clothes without being noticed. "I'm not the one that's full of myself mister I enjoy dancing on stage showing my body off to millions of people," Peter remarked as he reached under the pillow and pulled out a two pairs of handcuffs. "I still need to arrest you for the treasure. Now put your arms over your head," Peter instructed as he sat up and kept straddling Neal's waist.

Putting his arms up Neal looked at the handcuffs in Peter's hands. "I always knew you got off on handcuffing me and now you just proved it," Neal remarked as he put his arms up over his head and allowed Peter to cuff his wrists to the headboard. "I always knew you had a kinky side," Neal remarked with a laugh. Peter smirked "I always thought you belonged cuffed, in bed is just a bonus especially with your lack of clothes," Peter stated as he looked Neal over once more as he ran his hands over Neal's sides and watched him squirm. Moaning softly at the touches Neal struggled against the handcuffs a bit to test their strength. "I hate to admit it but. I think I really like being handcuffed…but only by you," Neal admitted in a husky voice.

Burying his face in the crook of Neal's neck Peter bit down hard to put a new mark to show Neal was his. "I… am not a vampire chew toy… stop…ahh," Neal moaned as he tried to regain some of his senses. Peter pulled back and smirked "Actually this is punishment for going away for a year, I'm making a mark that everyone will see," Peter growled as he bit the mark again harder than before. Neal forgot how to breathe. Slipping out of the cuffs Neal grabbed Peter's shoulders and held on for dear life as he tried not to black out from the overwhelming pleasure.

As he began to scream when Peter moved his hand to the right spot Neal was sure the neighbors could hear him but he didn't care. He was with someone he loved and that was all that mattered. Moving from Neal's neck Peter covered Neal's mouth with his to keep him quiet, he loved Neal but he wasn't in the mood of having the police being called on them for loud sex. Once they were both spent Peter pulled Neal close and placed a long kiss against his temple. "Was it as good as you remember?" he asked proud of the mark on Neal's neck that he knew would be visible under any suit he wore. "Even better than I could even dream," Neal said as he proceeded to pass out from mind blowing sex. Peter followed suit, after a couple hours though he found himself waking up with buzzing thoughts in his head.

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><p>Lying in bed awake, Peter watched Neal as he slept. Running his fingers through Neal's hair he smiled at his sleeping form. <em>I just have to figure out a way to explain my relationship with Neal to my parents; will they understand how much I care about him?<em> Peter thought as he pulled Neal closer and kissed his forehead. Groaning softly Neal opened his eyes and propped his head up with his hand. "I can tell that something is bothering you, so what is it?" Neal asked softly. Peter sighed and looked deep into Neal's eyes, "Forget it, it's nothing serious…just go back to bed," Peter whispered as he placed a feather light kiss against Neal's lips.

Neal sighed softly and snuggled back against Peter's chest and closed his eyes. "I'll get the truth out of you in the morning," Neal whispered as he let out a yawn. Peter laughed softly and kept his arm around Neal as he fell back asleep. Peter closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep. After a night of fitful sleep Peter woke to the sound of the alarm clock going off. Reaching over he turned it off and got out of bed. A slip of paper fluttered to the floor. Grabbing the note off the floor Peter gave a yawn before reading it. "Went to pick up Jayden and get a haircut before work, reheat the toast and eggs that are in the fridge, meet you at the office, Love Neal," Peter folded the note and stuck it in the top drawer and smirked as he showered and got dressed in one of his suits. After eating quickly and leaving his plate in the sink Peter drove to the office and parked his car. As he went upstairs he tried to remember what Neal would look like with short hair.

When he got out of the elevator he saw everyone crowded around Neal's desk cooing over a car seat on Neal's desk. Peter walked over and smirked. "I see your flaunting your parenthood, and what's with the casual clothing?" Peter asked looking Neal over taking note of his tee shirt and jeans. Neal stood up straighter and smiled. "I'm not here officially I still have a couple days off on paper besides I couldn't find a baby sitter so suddenly," Neal explained as he picked up Jayden as he started to cry. Peter felt a tug at his heart right away and took Jayden from Neal and cradled him, instantly he fell quiet. Hughes walked into the office and double finger pointed to Neal and Peter.

"Nick can you watch Jayden for a few minutes?" Neal asked as he took his son from Peter and handed him to his brother before walking up to Hughes office. "Caffrey, because this is your last year working as a consultant for the FBI I thought we should talk about your future, first let me say congratulations on your son, second I would like to say that I've been talking with some people at the DOJ and when your year is up we're willing to offer you a full time consulting job here, full pay, benefits, healthcare. You have to realize you're not just thinking for yourself here. Before you even ask, no you wouldn't have to carry a gun, it would be the same as now, just more money and benefits, of course taxes you'll have to pay," Hughes said as he said as he sat down behind his desk.

Looking over his shoulder at his son in his brother's arms he bit his lip in thought. "I'll think about it, you make it sound like a good offer but this is a dangerous job, I should know and I don't want Jayden to grow up without me…but I think after this last year I've had enough of the FBI to last me a lifetime, now if you'll excuse me I have to get my son home," Neal said as he left the office and went back to Jayden and took him from his brother. Peter watched Neal as he got Jayden ready for travel. "Burke he's the best damn consultant we've ever had, we've cleared more cases with him around then without him. You have to talk him into staying," Hughes said as he watched Neal. Peter looked at Neal and saw him look up and smile at him.

Turning around to his boss Peter sat down "Sir, it's ultimately Neal's choice if he wants to stay I-" "I let you move Caffrey into that house with you, did you think I was born yesterday? It didn't take a genius to figure out what's going on between you two; he goes away for a year and you get a divorce from Elizabeth, you watched Caffrey like a hawk since his job in Chinatown and you took him away up north, after a while I put two and two together it wasn't hard," Hughes said as Peter sat down across from his boss. "Just talk to him, and keep it out of the office and I'll look the other way, you're dismissed," he added as he looked down at the files in front of his desk.

Peter got up and walked into his office he didn't notice Neal sitting in front of his desk until he cleared his throat. Peter closed his office door and sat down behind his desk. "Peter, can we talk before I go?" Neal asked as he looked down at Jayden who was gurgling away in his car seat. "Yeah, what's up?" Peter asked looking at Neal. "When I went to pick up Jayden this morning I had this feeling like I was being followed by someone but there was no one around when I looked it just spooked me is all," he said as he felt his cheeks heat up a bit from embarrassment. "I'm going to have someone take you home and check the neighborhood out for any suspicious cars or people, I don't want you to be scared in your own home," Peter said as he got up and summoned Diana over.

"Take Neal home and look around Neal says that he felt like he was being followed this morning, just take a look around for me," Peter said as Neal got up from the chair and picked Jayden's car seat up off the floor. Nodding her head Diana led Neal out of the office. As they left Peter thought back to when he left the house that morning if there was any sense of being watched. When he couldn't wrap his mind around any feelings like that he got to work on his current case.

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><p>Diana drove Neal home, when they got there she checked the house first before strolling down the sidewalk looking for anything suspicious. As she walked down the sidewalk and neared a blue sedan it peeled away from the curb and narrowly missed hitting another car. Trying to catch the license plate Diana could barely make it out under the mud splattered onto it to keep it hidden. Walking back to Neal and Peter's place Diana went inside and assured Neal that there was no one around.<p>

Heading back to the office Diana kept her mind on what the car looked like. When she got back she went directly to Peter's office and closed the door behind her. "How did it go?" he asked putting his pen down. "A car pulled away as I got close, the plate was covered with mud…someone was definitely watching the place, most likely they won't be back for a while. They were driving a late model dark blue sedan. So if you want keep a phone tag with Neal all day to make sure he's alright," Diana said as she stood there. "Peter you don't think its Keller and Kyle do you?" she asked. Peter sighed "I hope not, they both made Neal's life a living hell if they are working together then it's going to be worse," Peter remarked as he let Diana leave.

Turning to his computer Peter looked at it trying to resist the urge to call Neal and make sure he was alright. Peter pulled up his files on his computer and looked them over he knew that it was going to be a long night. By seven that night Peter had called Neal a total of ten times to check up on him. When the small clock on his desk showed eight p.m. Peter realized he would be there all night, the new case was going to drive him mad. "This guy is good, he doesn't seem to make mistakes at all," Peter mumbled to himself as he looked the reports of the missing items over. "That's because you haven't found his weakness yet," Neal said from the doorway.

Throwing his head up Peter looked and saw Neal standing there holding a medium size bag with the most mouthwatering smell coming from it. "What are you doing here?" "I brought you dinner, and an extra set of eyes to help you with this case," Neal said as he walked into the office and handed the bag over to Peter. Reaching into the bag Peter pulled out a divided plastic Tupperware container. Yanking the top off the container he smirked at the meal, slices of meatloaf and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. "Neal you are a God send, how did you know I wanted this for dinner?" Peter asked as he took the fork Neal held out to him and dug in. "Oh I just know you really well is all," Neal remarked as he grabbed the files from Peter's desk and began to look them over.

"He only takes small things that he could fit into a messenger bag, hence the jewelry and the small statues and vases, that must mean he travels using public transportation," Neal said with a smile. "He's a New Yorker, he probably doesn't own a car or have a license and he probably has or had a real job until he started with his new career as a thief," he added as he put the files down on the table. Peter put his fork down for a moment and looked at the files and then back at Neal. "You're a genius, now if you can tell me how he gets the items in question from his victims then I'll bring a bottle of your favorite wine this weekend," Peter offered as he sat back in his chair waiting to see if Neal could do it.

Neal chewed on his bottom lip as he tried to figure out how the man did it. Looking up Neal shook his head, "I don't know… I just don't know," Neal said as he looked at the open files in front of Peter. Sighing Peter reclined back in his seat. "Hey where's Jayden?" Peter asked realizing Jayden wasn't there. "Oh he's at home, I had Mozzie come over and babysit while I brought you dinner," Neal replied with a smile. Once they were done they packed up and made their way back home.

By the time they pulled up in front of the house Peter looked around for a blue sedan when he didn't see one as he walked up the front steps with Neal. Walking inside they found Mozzie drinking a glass of wine and watching a movie. "Thanks Mozzie for doing this on such short notice," Neal said hoping that Mozzie would leave as he watched Peter go upstairs to check on Jayden. "Oh before I go Neal I took a look at those case files you had on the table and I have to say the use of hypnosis to gain riches is pure genius," Mozzie giddily said. Neal looked at the stack of files. "I'll talk to Peter about it and Moz if you could keep an ear to the ground for anyone then please tell me," Neal said as he walked his friend to the door. Once Mozzie left Neal put the travel bag in the kitchen and went upstairs and dropped onto the bed and sighed.

Peter walked into the master bedroom and dropped on the bed beside Neal. "I think we should leave Friday after I get out of work unless you want to leave around lunch time it will be a long drive to their farm," Peter remarked as he kicked his shoes off and started to get ready for bed. Neal sat up and wrapped his arms around Peter's shoulders and kissed the back of his neck. "We can leave at lunch time, I want to get there as soon as possible, that way if they hate me we can turn around and come home," Neal said with a smirk in his voice.

* * *

><p>By mid-morning Friday Neal had everything they needed packed by the front door. Peter packed the car and leaned against the car as he waited for Neal to finish up. Looking around for a blue sedan Peter got an uneasy feeling like he was being watched from behind. Looking toward the park Peter shrugged it off and got in the car for the long drive. Neal made sure that Jayden's car seat was strapped in the back before he got into the car and buckled his seatbelt. "Why don't you take a nap I know Jayden kept you up last night," Peter said as he glanced in the rearview mirror at Jayden taking a nap. Neal smiled softly and nuzzled against the seatbelt to support his head as he tried to get some more sleep.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is chapter three and please again read and review because I know you will after you read the chapter, also I do not own except for the characters I created.  
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**Chapter 3: Return of the Ex's**

Rubbing his eyes a bit Peter glanced over at Neal and saw he was resting again. Looking at the clock on the radio Peter smiled he knew that they should be arriving soon. Turning off the highway Peter looked at the small town as they passed through it. Reaching over he shook Neal awake and watched him stretch and yawn. Neal looked around outside the car before looking in the back seat to find Jayden chewing on his teething ring. "We're almost there, I talked to my mom while you were asleep and she said that if we need it she has my old crib if we need it for Jayden," Peter said as he turned off the country highway and drove down a more deserted street.

Neal played with the button to raise and lower the window a couple times. When he grew bored he looked up to see a two story farm house at the end of a long driveway. Feeling nervous Neal sat up more in his seat and quickly looked in the vanity mirror and fixed his hair and checked his looks before they pulled up to the house. When the car came to a stop Neal felt his stomach twist in knots. "I don't know if I can do this… I know normally I'm not this nervous but I want to impress your family so they will like me," Neal admitted as he tried to calm himself. Peter turned the car off and looked at Neal.

"I'm telling you everything will be fine and tonight if the weather's nice and we're sitting out on the porch I'll prove to you that everything is fine," Peter said as he got out of the car and stretched his arms over his head. Neal sighed and got out of the car. A cool breeze from the north came over the mountains. Shivering a bit Neal put his arms around himself and rubbed his arms. Peter walked around the car and waited as Neal retrieved Jayden from the back seat and held him close. Leading Neal up to the house Peter resisted the urge to put his arm around his waist. When they reached the bottom step of the porch the front door opened and a woman in her mid-sixties came out with her arms open wide.

Peter left Neal's side and walked up the stairs and hugged his mother. "Hey Mom, it's so good to see you again, sorry we're late we had to make a couple stops for Jayden, diaper changes and we had to track down a teething ring, the little guy started teething on our way here," Peter said as he led his mom down to where Neal had stayed out of fear and politeness. "Neal I would like you to meet my mother Margret Burke, mom this is Neal and his son Jayden," Peter said as he introduced Neal. "That's okay, you were traveling a long way with a baby, and shame on you Peter you never told me that your partner was so handsome you always say he's just a pain in your side at work," Margret said as she hugged Neal.

Jayden began to fuss and squirm at the contact. Neal smiled and started to rock Jayden to calm him down, "Shh… it's okay," Neal whispered as he rocked Jayden. After a minute he was able to calm his son down. "Peter, can you take him for a minute my phone is going off," Neal said as he handed Peter the next generation of Caffrey and pulled out his phone. After picking up the phone Neal chatted with Mozzie for a moment before hanging up. "Mozzie might have a lead for our case, I told him to call Diana since we were busy this weekend, he didn't want to but I promised him a couple bottles of wine and he folded," Neal said as he watched Peter hold Jayden. "Come inside, the rest of the family went into town to get stuff for dinner tonight, they should be back in a little while, then Neal you can tell us all about yourself, I must admit Peter says very little about his life in the city," Margret said as she practically dragged Neal inside.

* * *

><p>After a tour of the house Peter excused himself to unpack the car leaving Neal alone with his mother. Neal sat at the kitchen table with Peter's mother and wondered was going on in her mind. "Neal can I ask you something privately? You're friends with Peter… can you tell me why he and Elizabeth divorce, they seemed so happy together," Margret said as she prepared a cup of tea. "I don't know actually, you see I was away for a year I just came home a week ago, when I got back they were divorced and Peter had moved into a town house I got in my divorce," Neal said as he adjusted Jayden so he was more comfortable unaware of what he said.<p>

"Oh so you were married, do you have joint custody with your ex-wife?" Margret asked. Neal looked up, trying to come up with a quick lie Peter walked into the kitchen. "Car's all unpacked," Neal nodded and stood up. "Excuse me for a minute," Neal said as left the kitchen in a hurry and went up to the guest room and closed the door behind him. Laying Jayden down in the crib and giving him his pacifier Neal collapsed on the bed and turned his back to the door. After a minute there was a knock on the door as Peter entered the room and closed the door behind him and made sure it was locked before he made his way to the bed and sat on the edge of the twin bed. "What's wrong you seem troubled by something," Peter remarked as he played with a piece of Neal's hair.

Neal sat up and threw his arms around Peter's neck and held onto him and sighed contently against his shoulder. "I mentioned my divorce… by accident and now I don't know how to explain the truth to her, she assumes my divorce was with Alex but I don't want to lie to her, if she finds out the truth it will be worse… like the necklace and us," Neal said softly as he put his head on Peter's shoulder and closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling of being held. Peter smiled and rubbed Neal's back under the tee shirt he was wearing. "Why don't you stay in here for a while, and take a nap if you want and I'll tell her everything how does that sound?" Peter asked as he kissed Neal's forehead. Nodding his head Neal pulled away and lay back on the bed as Peter left the room and closed the door behind him.

Peter took in a deep breath as he walked back downstairs and found his mother setting the dining room table. "Mom, Neal wanted me to talk to you for him, maybe we could go outside and talk?" Peter asked as he walked toward the back door. Once they were outside Peter thought for a moment before speaking. "Neal wanted me to talk to you; he's worried that if you knew the truth about him that you would hate him and he wouldn't be accepted," Peter said as he leaned against the railing. "I already know he's a criminal, and that doesn't bother me at all, why is he so worried?" Margret asked as she sat on the bench against the wall. Peter stood quietly for a moment. "That's not what he's worried about; Neal is worried if you knew the truth about him then you wouldn't like him," Peter said as he sat by his mother.

"Neal's had a tough life the last couple years, after his girlfriend died he went undercover and when his cover was blown he was sold to a man in Italy who kept Neal like some kind of house pet; and when he didn't do as he was told he was beaten and starved. It took a while to get the old Neal back but even then Neal wasn't really back to a hundred percent but the FBI didn't care as long as he was mentally cleared, they put him back to undercover work where he was shot by a dirty DEA agent and then saved my life. After being on the mend mentally Neal was looking like he was going to be fine until his old boss came back in the picture," Peter said as he sighed and pushed some hair out of his eyes.

Margret sat there and listened to her son. "When Vincent came back into the picture he promised to tell Neal who killed Kate and when Neal tried to back out of a deal he forced him to steal a necklace which earned him some jail time but it was a reduced sentence, while in jail Neal had a suicide attempt because I said something to him I shouldn't have but the guards found him in time. By the time he got out he was like a cat, very skittish around me and it took time to repair our friendship, when we did he had started dating then married a man named Kyle Grant who we later found out to be Vincent's son, Kyle was horrible, he gave Neal food poisoning and when Neal tried to stand up to him or even when he tried to leave him he beat the living daylights out of Neal and put him in the hospital for a couple days after throwing him down a flight of stairs," Peter added as he thought back to how Neal looked after he was attacked by Kyle.

Both Burkes were quiet for a moment until someone cleared their throat making them both look up. "Can I join you?" Neal asked from the doorway. Peter smiled and waved Neal over and slid down the long bench to make room for Neal. A Neal took the open seat he kept his eyes turned down toward the wooden planks of the porch. Peter knew that right away Neal had been listening behind the door the whole time. Margret stood up and slowly walked to the door when she looked back over she watched Peter pull Neal closer and whisper something in his ear.

"Margret… is Peter here yet?" A man's voice called loud enough to make the two out back on the porch jump apart as if they were on fire. "He's out back on the porch with Neal, and keep your voice down you'll wake Neal's son upstairs," Margret said as she met her husband at the kitchen door. Walking outside the man was flanked by his other sons. "You must be Neal… I'm Robert and these are my other two sons, Frank… he's the oldest and James is the youngest," Robert said as he shook Neal's hand. "It's nice to meet all of you, Peter never really talked about his family, though I can't blame him since I never spoke of mine for a long time," Neal said with a smile as he shook James and Frank's hands as well. Margret walked out onto the porch and smiled. "Why don't you all busy yourselves while I make dinner," she said with a smile. "Peter do you want to go get a drink at the bar it's been forever since we hung out," Frank offered as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket.

Peter smiled and got up, "I'd love to, Neal do you want to come or would you rather stay here?" Peter asked trying to judge what Neal wanted to do. "You go I've been in a car all day and I would hate to get in the way of your time with your brothers, besides I have to check on Jayden. You go ahead and have fun Peter and I'll see you when you get home," Neal said as he fought the urge to hug and kiss Peter goodbye. Peter followed his brothers around the house and got into his eldest brother's truck and watched the house disappear as they drove to town.

* * *

><p>Feeling like an intruder in the house Neal decided to take a walk to the barn and walk around inside so when he got to the door he pulled it open and slipped inside and saw the farming equipment against the wall and a few horses in the stables. Walking over to the horses Neal smiled and began to talk to the beasts and stroked the neck of the chestnut brown horse in front of him. "He's a beauty isn't he?" Robert asked from the doorway. Turning around Neal nodded and kept petting the horse's broad neck. "Do you know how to ride?" Robert asked. Again Neal nodded and went back to petting the horse's muscular neck.<p>

"Maggie tells me that horses aren't the only thing you like to ride; she told me there is something going on between you and Peter," Robert said as he walked closer to Neal. Turning around to deny it Neal was met with a strong backhand to the face that sent him backwards to the floor hard. Opening his eyes he realized how dangerously close he was to the razor sharp blades of the small harvester parked near the stables in the barn. As Neal's mind reeled trying to come up with a lie Neal felt something hard hit him and snap him back into reality.

Looking up with terror filled eyes Neal saw Peter's father wielding a garden hose like a whip. Neal's mind immediately thought of Kyle and the abuse that he had put Neal though. Shaking like a leaf Neal crossed his arms over his face and shutting his eyes tightly to the point of hurting he tucked his legs as close to his body as the assault began again. Too scared to make a sound Neal just lay there and took the beating until the older man stopped. "You ruined my son's marriage to a wonderful woman and then you turned him into a queer like you… and if you tell him about any of this I'll just deny it," Robert said as he dropped the hose and walked over to Neal and grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up a bit. "From this moment on whenever you see me you refer to me as sir and you're to keep that mouth of yours shut or I'll beat you with a tire iron is that understood?" he asked as he pulled harder on Neal's hair. "Yes…sir… I understand," Neal said softly as he continued to shake out of fear. Letting go of Neal's hair Robert scoffed "Go inside… and get yourself cleaned up you look like hell," he ordered as he moved over to the horses and began to feed them like nothing happened.

Neal got to his feet and left the barn in a hurry and to avoid being seen he circled around the front of the house and went through the front door and up the stairs. When he got to the guest room he shut the door before climbing into bed and pressing his face into the pillows as he started to yell and cry. The heavy pillow muffled the sobs of pain as Neal buried himself under the quilt. Soon there was a soft knock on the door. "Neal… Robert and I were going to start eating since the boys aren't home yet would you like to come down?" Margret asked through the door. Ignoring his stomach Neal poked his head from under the quilt. "I'm not very hungry right now, but thanks for the offer," Neal said before diving back under the covers to hide and wait for Peter to return. Going back downstairs Margret shrugged her shoulders "He says he's not hungry, you don't think he's sick, do you?" she asked worried about Neal as if he was one of her sons. "Who cares, don't bother wasting your time worrying about someone like him," Robert said as started to eat.

Margret walked back into the dining room. "What you mean is someone who is bisexual…I told you about their relationship because I didn't want it to shock you later; if you've done something to that poor boy Peter will never forgive you," Margret said as she sat down beside her husband too upset to keep talking to him.

Peter sat at the bar with his brothers and looked at his beer in front of him. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small box and looked at it for a moment before stuffing it back into his pocket as Frank paid their bill before leaving to head home. Putting his hand back into his pocket he wrapped his hand around the small box in his pocket as he watched the trees fly by. When they got back to their parent's house Peter jumped out of the truck and went inside. Peter looked into the dining room and saw that Neal wasn't there and going upstairs Peter entered the guest room and found Neal wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets.

Smiling a bit Peter took the blankets off of Neal and saw him giving a weak smile. Unable to resist any longer Peter cupped Neal's cheek in his hand and pulled him into a kiss. Neal ignored the throb in his cheek in his from where Robert had back handed him. Neal closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Peter's neck and pulled him closer. Pushing the memory of the day's events out of mind Neal broke the kiss and rested his lips against Peter's for a moment. "I missed you…" Neal said softly. Peter smirked and kissed Neal again. As they looked into each other's eyes Jayden began to fuss and cry. Neal slid off the bed and went over to the crib and picked Jayden up and rocked him.

"We should get downstairs for dinner before everyone eats everything," Peter said as he went to the door and opened it. "I'll meet you down there, I have to change Jayden," Neal said grabbing the diaper bag and set up a make shift changing station on Peter's bed. Peter smirked as he left the room and went downstairs to eat. Once he was done changing his son Neal picked Jayden up and brought him downstairs and went into the kitchen and got Jayden a bottle from the fridge. Walking into the dining room Neal parked himself on the edge of the chair beside Peter to keep his back from hitting the back of the chair and began to feed Jayden. Neal kept his eyes downcast when he saw Robert watching him feed his son.

Wanting to break the silence Peter looked at Neal. "So what did you do while I was gone?" he asked as he served himself. "Nothing much your dad just showed me around the barn and then I came inside and went upstairs, nothing really happened," Neal said keeping his voice low and his head down. As soon as Jayden was done with the bottle Neal started to get up. "Oh don't get up Neal, I'll do it, it's been years since I got to feed a little one, Frank's kids are all too big now they can feed themselves now," Margret said as she walked around the table and took Jayden from Neal. "Besides you're just skin and bones you need to eat something," she added as she went back into the kitchen and got another bottle and came back to sit and feed Jayden.

Neal didn't dare look up too far since he could feel eyes boring into him. Quickly serving himself he listened to the conversations around him as he picked at his food. Peter didn't like how Neal was acting; like he was definitely hiding something as he also noticed that Neal was perched on the edge of his chair like a bird on a branch. By the time dinner had ended everyone was full but Neal. Not wanting to stay downstairs too much longer for fear of being judged Neal took Jayden upstairs and rocked him a bit before putting him to bed. He turned around to a light knock on the doorframe. "Are you coming back downstairs after you put him to bed?" Peter asked from the doorway. Neal looked over at Peter and nodded. Once he was sure Jayden had fallen asleep Neal walked back downstairs and found the house was empty.

Looking around Neal heard the pop of a cork coming from the back porch. Walking outside he found Peter sitting there waiting for him. "Where is everyone?" Neal asked as he sat down beside Peter. "My parents went to a farmer's market meeting at their church and my brothers took off probably to another bar, leaving the three of us alone for a while," Peter said as he handed Neal a glass of wine. Smiling at the wine Neal sat beside Peter and looked at the wine in the glass. "You're being romantic…I like this side of you," Neal said.

* * *

><p>Reaching over Peter took Neal's hand and held it. "You're amazing, handsome, and smart, you can be a pain sometimes but I love you. We've been through so much over the years and over the last year of not having you around I realize that it's harder to function without you around. I want you to stay with me and be by my side as my friend, my partner and my lover…so how about it, will you marry me?" Peter asked sheepishly as he held out a ring box to Neal. Forgetting everything that bothered him Neal smiled "Of course… you could have even said it on a post it note at work and I would have said yes," Neal said as he opened the small box and looked at the ring. "Jeez Peter this looks expensive, you didn't have to spend this much money on a ring for me," he said taking the ring out of the box and slipping it onto his finger.<p>

"I didn't, Dante and Nick loaned me the money so now I owe them both favors for lending me enough for this ring," Peter said with a smile as he took the wine glass from Neal and put it aside before kissing him. Neal pulled away and laughed a bit. "I never borrow money from them only because they can make you really pay later on, I just hope I'm worth it," Neal remarked. "Of course you're worth it," Peter said as he put his arms around Neal. As soon as Peter's hands were on his back Neal flinched. "I've been very patient now I have to ask what's going on," Peter practically demanded as he saw fear flicker in Neal's eyes. Turning away from his fiancé Neal lifted his shirt over his head revealing at least a dozen black and blue marks on his back.

Peter sighed and put his arms around Neal and pulled him back against his chest, Neal dropped his shirt and let Peter hold him."I promise he's not going to lay another hand on you," Peter whispered as he held Neal. The sun slowly began to set in the west; Neal gave a soft sigh and leaned his head back against Peter's chest. "Sometimes I wonder how you can love me when I'm so damaged," he said as he shifted until he was comfortable. "You are not damaged Neal; you're just fractured and I intended on mending you," Peter whispered as held the younger man close as the sky grew even darker. Neal smiled and tilted his head so he could look at Peter. "How did you know that it was your father?" Neal asked softly. "Two reasons, one my mother adores you and thinks of you as family so she would never do this and two he's always been a bit judgmental," Peter said as he kept Neal very close.

* * *

><p>When the mosquitoes began to buzz more insistently Peter and Neal went inside and decided to call it an early night. After pushing the two beds together Peter used the clips to hold them in place to make it a queen size bed. Changing out of his clothes Neal walked into the bedroom from the bathroom and saw Peter getting into bed quietly so as not to wake Jayden. Slipping into bed Neal slid into Peter's arms and put his head against Peter's bare shoulder. Relaxing Neal slowly drifted off to sleep feeling very safe in Peter's arms. Listening to the silence Peter smiled and let sleep claim him.<p>

By the next morning Peter found he was alone in bed, letting his eyes adjust to the morning light he climbed out of bed and made his way downstairs where Neal was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with his mother and brothers and Jayden on his lap. Peter knew his father was probably up already and was doing chores already outside.

Peter smiled at the view in front of him of Neal and Jayden being accepted by most of his family. Pulling his courage together he walked outside and over to his father by the chicken coops. "Hey dad…so have you heard the good news?" Peter asked trying to break the ice with his father. "Good news… nope…just that you're going to ruin the good name of our family by marrying him," Robert said as he finished throwing the feed on the ground. "His name is Neal and you're going to have to accept the fact that he and I are going to be married and if you ever raise a hand to him again I'll have you arrested for assaulting a federal agent," Peter warned as he walked back to the house.

As he walked inside he saw Jayden chewing on the ear of the stuffed rabbit that Mozzie had give him. Taking the open seat beside Neal he saw Jayden looking at him with his large blue eyes. "Hey there… what are you looking at?" Peter asked with a smile as he saw Jayden give a tiny smile around the ear of the rabbit. Neal laughed softly at the interaction "Your mom is taking me into town to an antique store she says I'll love," Neal said as he handed Jayden over. "I'm going to get dressed," Neal said as he left the kitchen and went upstairs. Once he was done getting dressed Neal walked back downstairs and waited for Margret to finish. "Peter, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Neal asked with a smile.

"No thanks I'll just stay here I think there is a game on some channel, I'm going to show Jayden that sports aren't boring like you think they are," Peter said with a smirk. "Alright but you can't complain when I want to teach him about conning and art now," Neal remarked as he left with Margret. Looking down at his soon to be adopted son Peter sighed. "I really hope you choose to be an FBI agent when you grow up," he said knowing that Jayden couldn't understand him yet. Putting Jayden on the floor Peter turned the TV on and began to search for a game while his brothers found places to sit before the game started.

Jayden grabbed the rings off the floor and started to teethe against one ring as he played with his toy. Peter made sure to keep an eye on Jayden as he, Frank and James watched the game. "I'm just glad you two accept Neal, and this means you two get to be uncles after I legally adopt Jayden," Peter remarked as the brothers watched Jayden play with his toy.

* * *

><p>When Sunday rolled around Neal was taking his time so that they could spend more time and he could learn even more about Peter from his mother. Peter almost had to handcuff his lover just to get him to leave. It was quarter past one when they finally finished packing up their things and the couple photo albums and books of recipes that Margret had given Neal along with a few of the things they had bought at the antique store in town the day before. Once all goodbyes were said Peter dragged Neal over to the car and waited for him to get in before he walked to the driver's side and got in. Grabbing the book he had bought from the small used book store Neal flipped open to his bookmark and began to read as Peter turned the car on and pulled away from the farm house. With an uneventful ride home with minimal stops Peter pulled up in front of their house.<p>

Once the car was unpacked and everything was put away Neal fed and changed Jayden and sat on the couch and put his head back against the couch. "Why don't we turn in early tonight, you looks beat and we both have to get up early for work tomorrow… besides we're alone…and we have a bed upstairs, I hope you know where I'm going with this?" Peter asked as Neal smirked. "Oh I know exactly where you're going with this," Neal replied as he took Jayden upstairs to bathe and put to bed. By the time Jayden was finally in bed Neal walked into the master bedroom and dropped onto the bed.

Peter walked in and dropped on the bed beside Neal. "This is perfect, you me and some extra sleep," Neal said as he kicked his shoes off. "We'll just have breakfast tomorrow I'm too tired to eat," Peter marked as he kicked his own shoes off. Looking to his left he noticed that Neal had already fallen asleep fully clothed. Not far behind Peter didn't bother to strip out of his clothes and fell asleep as well.

* * *

><p>"Neal we're going to be late!" Peter yelled from downstairs as he finished his coffee, Neal descended the stairs with Jayden in his arms. "Now you've used this babysitter before and she does a good job?" Neal asked worried about leaving Jayden alone with someone he never met. Peter sighed and rolled his eyes. "She's Yvonne's sister and she watched Jayden for me while you were on tour so trust her, she has a degree in early childcare and development a great resume and I called past employers and she was highly recommended," Peter said reassuring Neal as the doorbell rang and he answered it. "Morning Jenna… Jayden's started to teething over the weekend," Peter said as Neal handed Jayden over. "Hey little buddy, we're going to have fun today," Jenna said as she carried Jayden inside.<p>

Peter grabbed Neal by the arm and finally dragged him out of the house and into the car. After they finally arrived at the office Neal missed spending time with Jayden he saw the silver lining in the clouds that he only had to be at the FBI for one more year then he could be a free man. Everyone bustled around the office doing their jobs; around ten Peter called a meeting on the most recent case. Once all the agents were in the conference room Peter began the meeting. Halfway through the meeting a secretary came into the room. "Mr. Caffrey there is a call for you, and they want you to take it in here on the speaker phone…" she said very unsure of how to state the request.

Leaning forward Neal pressed the speaker button on the table phone. "Um… Hello how can I help you?" Neal asked trying to figure out who was on the phone. "Hey Babe long time no talk… how's it going?" Kyle asked over the phone. Neal froze as the memories of his first marriage came back to him. "What do you want Kyle?" Peter asked as he motioned for Jones to start a trace. "Agent… Burke… how nice to hear your voice again, now I think a package should be arriving for Neal right about now… you should open it Babe it's important," Kyle said with a smirk evident in his voice.

Neal was shaken out of his trance when a box was handed to him. Ripping the one strip of tape holding the flaps down Neal opened the box and pulled an orange stuffed rabbit out of the box. Looking up at Peter he knew that he recognized the stuffed animal as well. "Give him back… give me back my son right now you son of a bitch!" Neal yelled as he got to his feet and slammed his hands on the table.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own blah blah blah, and thanks to my fans and beta  
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**Chapter 4: Cause and Effect**

Kyle laughed over the phone "Temper…temper babe, you shouldn't go shooting off your mouth when someone else's life is on the line," he said as he moved the phone over and a gurgling could be heard. Neal grabbed the edge of the table and held onto it to keep from falling to his knees. "You got a real cute kid Caffrey…" the voice said and knowing who the voice belonged to made Neal's stomach drop further. Everyone was stock still waiting for Neal to respond to the callers. "I swear to God Keller if you or Kyle hurt Jayden in any way I will rip your fucking spines out of your bodies and stab you to death with them is that understood?" Neal growled in a moment of strength. Keller laughed over the phone "I like the passion Caffrey but in all fairness, you don't know where we are or you can't stop me if I do this," he said as he pinched Jayden hard making him cry.

Neal's anger crumbled like an old building. "Don't hurt him…please… what do you want?" Neal pleaded as he fell back into the seat behind him. "As much fun as I'm having I have to go but we'll talk later Caffrey; one of us will call back in two hours with our demands," Keller said before hanging up. The agents sat in silence for a moment before Diana stood up and silently ushered everyone out to give Neal some privacy. Peter hung back to comfort Neal and keep him calm. Keeping everyone calm in the bullpen Diana waited for orders from Peter on what to do next. Looking up into the conference room through the glass walls she wished she could be a fly on the wall.

Peter walked over to Neal and started to put his arms around him only to have him pull away. "You promised me nothing happen to me or Jayden… and now they have him, so how are you going to protect him now?" Neal accused as he advanced on Peter. Ignoring the hurt and angered look on Neal's face Peter put his arms around him and kept him close as he struggled to get away. "I'm going to find him…and those two are going back to jail for the rest of their lives," Peter promised, knowing if he said he promised it would just start another fight so he kept quiet and took the hits to his shoulder and chest from Neal's fists until he calmed down. When Neal finally gave up and let Peter hold him he buried his face in Peter's shoulder to hide from the world. "We're going to get Jayden back…and when he's back you can bring him to work every day until you feel safe again," Peter offered as he pried Neal from his arms and sat him down in a chair.

"I have to get the teams ready for when they call again; Jones will be in here on the computer trying to locate the origin of the call so you'll have to keep calm and keep them talking," Peter said going into an authoritative tone. Neal gave a small smile as Peter tried to deal with his worries. "You do a better job consoling as a lover because as an FBI agent you're not very good at it," Neal said as he looked up from where he was sitting. Peter ruffled Neal's hair and left him for a moment to get his agents ready. Diana walked up to Peter as he left the conference room. "Jones tried to trace the call… it was a burn phone boss… but he is going to keep trying and he said he'll be ready for the next call, so how is Neal doing?" she asked looking around Peter's shoulder at Neal sitting alone.

Peter glanced back for a moment. "Well he's scared for Jayden and he's mad at me… I promised him nothing would happen to him or Jayden and now that something has happened, I don't know if he trusts me as much as he used to," Peter said as he walked down the stairs to his future brother in law. "Nick I want you and Dante to go to my and Neal's place and look for clues, keep the police out of this and any reporters… you have my permission to do what you have to, just try to stay out of jail," Peter said as he kept his voice down. Nick nodded and left with his cousin both talking quickly in Italian as they left the office. Looking at the clock above the door Peter saw only two minutes had passed and yet it felt like an eternity had passed. Trying to figure out what to do next, he was lost when it was someone else he was helping it was easy but when it hit so close to home he couldn't remember how to do anything.

Walking back into the conference room Peter ignored Jones as he set up the tracer on the phone and made his way over to Neal and sat beside him on the floor where he had taken refuge from everyone's gaze. "I want to go home," Neal said softly as he put his head against Peter's shoulder. Just then the glass door was pushed open and Hughes walked in with the head of the DOJ. "Burke what the hell is going on? Why is everyone is running around pulling files and pushing desks together for?" Hughes asked as he walked closer. Peter got to his feet and closed the gap. "Kyle and Keller broke into our house this morning and kidnapped Jayden… they called not too long ago to gloat about it and they said they would call back in two hours with their demands," Peter said as he filled his boss in on the situation.

Both men looked at Neal for a moment before looking back at Peter. "So do you have any ideas on what they could be after?" Hughes asked looking at his agent. Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I stopped asking that question a long time ago, things aren't as black and white in their world, all I know is that whatever…It… is Neal will give it up in a heartbeat just to have Jayden back," Peter said lowering his voice a bit.

* * *

><p>Finally the eternal wait was over as Neal got off the floor and walked over to the table as the phone began to ring. Neal reached forward and hit the speaker phone. "I told you we would be calling back…now before your little FBI friends can try and trace this we'll get to the point…we want the Nazi treasure and we want it in one hour or something bad might happen to your kid," Keller said a smirk evident in his voice. Neal was about to speak when Peter cut him off.<p>

"We don't make deals with kidnappers and you're not getting anything from us no matter what you threaten," he said trying to keep his voice from giving away his fear; he could feel Neal's eyes boring into him with anger. "Agent Burke… you got a lot of balls saying that, I wonder how a child will take a thumb tack jammed into his chubby little leg." Keller mused; a second later everyone's ears were assaulted by an unearthly bawling of a child in pain. Neal covered his ears "Stop! I'll give you the treasure just stop!" Neal yelled as loud as he could. The phone moved away from Jayden "Fine… Caffrey you have one hour to get the treasure ready, I'll be calling your cell with the location of the drop after your hour is over and if we see any FBI agents or even lover boy Burke we get to test the theory on do babies bounce when dropped from the roof of a skyscraper," Keller said before he hung up.

Neal felt his anger explode; grabbing the edge of the table he flipped it over. In the confusion Neal disappeared like smoke in the wind. Peter reached around his neck and found the chain with the warehouse key was missing. "Damn it Neal…" he mumbled feeling a small smile on his lips from the nostalgic feeling of Neal doing something stupid and he would have to play hero. Hughes turned on Peter and stared at him like an old junk yard dog. "Burke… do you realize that treasure cannot be handed over; its millions of dollars worth of history that could disappear in a matter of minutes. I will not be known as the man that let our record be ruined for crazed kidnappers," he said his voice raising an octave.

"I told you sir, Neal would do anything to get Jayden back, in his head nothing else matters… he could look at four more years and jail and it wouldn't scare him away. If you thought his escape from jail was crazy you haven't seen anything yet," Peter said as he left the room and walked over to where Diana and Jones had set up a small station. "Neal's anklet shows him going straight for the warehouse district by June's and he must have paid the cab driver really well he made it up there in only five minutes," Diana said looking at the computer screen.

Peter sighed he wanted to follow Neal and make sure he was safe but he knew Neal would never forgive him if something happened to Jayden. Peter heard his cell phone ring and he knew instinctively that it wasn't Neal calling. "We just finished up at your place, it's pretty much a disaster area, stuff is knocked over and some broken picture frames. Whoever you hired as a baby sitter sure put up a fight, But she's missing and so are some of Jayden's things, some toys, a diaper bag is missing from upstairs and some bottles from the fridge," Nick said taking one more look around the living room. Peter sighed "There's a hidden nanny-cam thing set up on top corner bookcase by the windows the hard drive is hidden on the top shelf behind the books. Bring that in we'll see what happened," Peter said as he ignored his agents looking at him.

Nick looked around and saw the book case and did as he was told. "Alright we'll be back in the office in a few minutes, we'll post an agent at your place to make sure no one tries to steal anything," Nick said before hanging up. Peter looked at the clock and saw only ten minutes had gone by. Pacing the length of the room Peter was feeling uneasy like something wasn't going to go right and there was going to be problems. When Nick and Dante returned they were soaked to the bone. "Hell of a thunderstorm out there," Nick remarked. Peter looked up he was so lost in his own thoughts he didn't even notice the loud rumbles of thunder.

Moving back into the conference room Jones plugged the hard drive in and pulled up the footage from that morning. They watch as Jenna is talking to Jayden and him gurgling in response as she gets his morning bottle from the kitchen. The camera shows the living and dining room in perfect detail and sound. Peter controls himself as he hears the doorbell ring a few times and he gives a small smile when he sees Jenna ignore it like she was told to and goes back to the couch where Jayden was waiting to be fed, just then a shadow seemed to appear at the back door and kicks it in.

Jayden's recorded cries could be heard from the speakers. Jones glanced up and saw Peter was wincing at the sound. Hitting the pause button to stop the tape he looked back at his boss. "Do you need a second?" he asked in a careful tone. "No…just keep going," Peter said as Jones hit play. Nick had been right the first thing Jenna had done was grabbed the fire poker and went into the fight swinging, for a five foot-four twenty-six year old she was a scrappy fighter.

She had caught Keller in the shoulder and head before he overpowered her and knocked her out. Peter watched as Keller wandered around the room tossing things over his shoulder before he got to the couch where Jayden was crying. Making a mocking cry Keller yelled at Jayden making the infant stop crying and look at the invader with his head cocked to the side. It took Peter a second to realize that Kyle had walked in from the left side of the screen and was moving around gathering things and shoving them into the diaper bag before he went into the kitchen most likely to grab the bottles and formula while Keller grabbed Jenna off the floor and Kyle came back and took Jayden from the couch.

Jones stopped the tape when Kyle and Keller left via the front door. Peter walked over to the window and watched the lightning in the sky as he tried to grasp at what to do next. When he felt a hand on his shoulder he almost jumped. "Why don't you make a cup of coffee and sit in your office we'll take care of everything in here," Diana said knowing just how lost Peter was. Nodding his head Peter grabbed the orange rabbit off the end of the table and made his way into his office before he collapsed into his desk chair and hugged the plush rabbit close.

Watching the small clock on his desk tick down the dreaded hour Peter felt his stomach twist in more knots than ever. He wasn't even this nervous asking Neal to marry him. When the small chimes began to go off he felt the bile rise into his throat before settling back in his stomach he began to worry even more as the second hand kept ticking. _ Neal…where are you… I wonder if you have Jayden back yet..._ Peter asked himself as he kept his eyes glued to the clock. As he stared at the clock he heard a phone ringing in the distance and Diana's voice answering in his office telling the guard downstairs to send someone up.

Still lost in his own thoughts it took Diana a couple shakes to bring her boss back from his own world. Peter blinked and looked up only to see Diana pointing to the glass doors that led to the elevators just as a security guard from downstairs came out of the elevator with Jenna and Jayden. Peter got up and walked out to meet them. When he reached the middle of the bull pen he smiled when he heard Jayden coo. "I'm sorry Mr. Burke I tried to stop him but he over powered me…" Peter held up his hand as he took Jayden from Jenna and held him close. "It's okay Jenna; we have to ask you some questions about everything that happened, Diana is going to take you into the conference room and talk to you," Peter said as he kept Jayden close. "Someone call Neal and get him out of that warehouse," Peter called as he looked around for someone to make the call for him.

* * *

><p>Neal looked at his cell phone and when his phone began to ring with an unlisted number he took in a deep breath to keep from shaking. "Ah Caffrey I trust that you're ready, is everything in your little truck ready to go?" Keller asked. Neal lowered his gaze from the truck. "Yeah it's ready, just give me my son back Keller," Neal said in a defeated tone.<p>

The door leading to the hallway opened "Oh you'll get him back when we feel like it," Keller said as he snapped his phone shut and walked closer to Neal with Kyle at his side. Neal backed away until he backed into the truck's tire. Kyle smirked and quickened his pace and threw his arms out to box his ex in against the truck. "Hey Babe…long time no see… your complaints of abuse put me in jail didn't they?" Kyle asked his ex with a whisper over his lips. Neal turned his head away and closed his eyes as he felt one of Kyle's hands start to roam over his body. Neal began to shake at the roaming hand as it moved down his chest.

Kyle smirked as he watched Neal shake. "Why don't you kneel down," Kyle said with a smirk as he pushed Neal down hard to the ground. Neal felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked up at Kyle, his eyes giving off the deer in the headlights look. "Hey… hey… don't be scared babe; I'm not going to hurt you… I'm just going to teach you a lesson for thinking you can leave me and be happy with someone else…"Kyle said as he put his hands on Neal's face cupped his chin to force him to keep looking at him. "I saw the engagement ring from Burke… too bad he's going to be burying you with it," Kyle remarked as he moved his hands down around Neal's throat and began to squeeze.

Instinctively Neal grabbed Kyle's hands and tried to pull his hands away. "You know Grant I've been thinking about this treasure," Keller said as he walked around in a small circle. "I'm kind of busy here… killing my ex and all…" Kyle remarked as he tightened his grip on Neal's throat as he watched the light in Neal's eyes begin to fade. Keller gave a small laugh. "Yeah well I'm not up for waiting or sharing so I think it's time we part ways… partner…" Keller said as he raised a sawed off shot gun and pulled the trigger.

Neal could faintly hear a gun going off, but with his mind fuzzy from lack of oxygen he was having a hard time catching up, he felt something splatter on his face and the pressure weaken around his neck. Falling to the side Neal felt a warm liquid on his face as he struggled to breathe. The ground began to shake as a loud rumble filled the warehouse. Neal pushed himself up into a seated position and used his arms to support his weight as his eye sight and mind began to sharpen from the lack of oxygen haze. Looking around he saw the pool of blood and the body. Yelling filled the air before the loud rumble of the truck engine stopped.

"He's over here" Jones yelled as Peter walked around the truck and saw Neal on the cold cement of the warehouse floor. Moving quickly Peter moved to Neal side, when he touched his shoulder Neal opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Peter helped Neal to his feet and put his arms around his lover. "Neal… its okay… don't yell you're going to hurt your vocal cords," Peter said as he felt Neal calm down. "The paramedics are going to check you out and see if you have to go to the hospital and before you even try to ask Jayden is fine; he and Jenna are at the office right now they're fine," Peter said as he the paramedics came over to check Neal out. When the paramedic was done with his initial exam he reached out to check for any damage to Neal's throat Neal backed away. "Hey it's alright I'm not going to hurt you," he said trying to keep Neal calm but hearing the same words Kyle said to him before he started to choke him Neal turned and buried his face against Peter's shoulder and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

Peter looked at the paramedic and shook his head. "Forget it… he's still in shock, I'll take him home, I know a doctor who will make a house call," Peter said as he kept his arms around Neal. The paramedic huffed and walked off mumbling about a waste of time. Neal kept a tight hold as he watched Kyle's body being moved away by the city coroner that had arrived. "Diana, I'm taking Neal home to get cleaned up, could you tell Nick to bring Jayden home?" Peter asked as he put his coat over Neal's shoulders and maneuvered him out of the warehouse. Diana pulled her phone out and called Neal's brother after telling him what happened she passed along the message of bringing Jayden home.

* * *

><p>The car ride home was quiet; Peter got them home in record time. As they pulled up to the house Neal rubbed his neck as he got out of the car. Peter led Neal into the house "Why don't you go take a hot shower and get into bed while I clean up down here," Peter said as he watched Neal go upstairs. Walking into the living room Peter sighed and began to pick up the picture frames making sure the broken glass didn't fall out before he dumped it into the kitchen trash. After he finished cleaning up the glass Peter groaned and dropped onto the couch and looked up when he heard Neal coming down the stairs.<p>

Neal walked over to the couch and sat down, his hair still damp from the shower. "Hey…did that make you feel any better?" Peter asked worried. Neal gave a small nod and rubbed his head to stop the headache he had. "Knock-knock" Nick called as he and Dante used their spare key to walk into the house. "Hey look whose home," Nick said as he walked into the living room with his nephew in his arms and his bag on his shoulder. Neal moved from the couch and took Jayden from his brother and held him close. "Thanks Nick… Dante…" Peter said as Neal walked back to the couch and sat back down.

Rising from the couch Peter walked over to Nick and Dante and pulled them aside. "Do you happen to know the number of some guy named Dr. Stone?" Peter asked. Nick pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contact list and found the number he needed before calling the doctor. "Dr. Stone… its Nick Caffrey, you wouldn't happen to be in New York today would you? Oh you are good I need you to stop over at my brother's place, he needs some care," Nick said before giving Neal's address then hanging up. "He'll be here in a little while, Dante and I need to head back now, oh if you need someone I have a guy who does really good doors," he added.

Peter put his arm around Neal and held him close. "That would be nice thanks Nick…I'll talk to you two later, I'm going to stay here for the rest of the day," Peter said before Nick and Dante left. Neal ignored the others and smiled at his son, any consequences of going back to jail for having the treasure didn't worry him at all. When the doctor arrived Peter let him in and brought him over to Neal. "Mr. Caffrey in more trouble I see, I swear I could retire just from helping your family," Dr. Stone said with a chuckle as he put his bag down on the coffee table. Peter sat behind Neal and took Jayden from him when the doctor began to examine Neal. After a few minutes Dr. Stone felt Neal's neck and gave a small smile when he was done. "Your hyoid bone is intact, which is good since you're going to have a sore throat for a couple days to a week and you should resist talking for a day or two just to heal a bit. Be sure to drink warm liquids and some sleep should help, if you don't get your voice back at all in a week have Peter or Nick call me again," Dr. Stone said.

Neal nodded his head and took Jayden from Peter and supported his small head against his shoulder. "I'll walk you to the door," Peter said as he got up and walked the older man to the door. "How much do we owe you for this visit?" Peter asked. "Don't worry about it, I'm on retainer with the family, you have my number if something comes up," the man said as he walked down the front steps. Peter closed the front door and returned to the couch. "I'm so sorry Neal… you must hate me for Jayden being kidnapped and just everything that's happened today," Peter said as he put his head back until he felt two taps on his shoulder and saw Neal holding up two fingers.

"You have two things to say?" he asked as Neal nodded. Neal pointed at Jayden first. "Jayden being kidnapped…" Peter remarked to another nod. Neal gave Peter's shoulder a hard punch with his free hand. Rubbing his shoulder Peter gave a small chuckle. "I deserved that I made a promise and I didn't keep it; you have every right to be mad at me," Peter remarked as he rubbed the punch away. Neal smiled held Jayden close and snuggled against Peter's bruised shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about Neal… Kyle's dead and Keller is going away for murder he's never going to hurt you or Jayden again," Peter said as he kept a protective arm around the younger man. Tracing his finger on Neal's side Peter put his head back. "I'm sorry that this happened Neal but I'm just glad you're alive," he said let out a sigh as Jayden began to squirm. Neal held up one finger and pointed it to his lips. Understanding right away Peter leaned in and pressed his lips against Neal's and kissed him.

Pulling away from the kiss Peter looked down and saw Jayden was getting fussy again. "His gums must be bugging him, why don't you take him upstairs and just sit with him for a while, I'll finish up cleaning down here then I'll come up," Peter said as he watched Neal get up and cautiously look around as he walked upstairs. Getting up from the couch Peter picked up a few knocked over chairs and set them right side up. _I'll have to make Neal feel safe here…this is our home, _Peter thought as he looked around and judged if anything else needed to be cleaned up. Looking at the back door he sighed and pushed it closed even though he knew it wouldn't stay closed. Walking away from the door Peter made his way upstairs to the nursery to watch Neal and Jayden.

* * *

><p>After weeks of rest and vocal therapy Neal finally gained his voice back. Peter was glad to have the old speaking Neal back; he had enough of trying to figure out Neal's sign language for everyday things. Peter walked out of the kitchen and put the coffee cups on the dining room table along with their breakfast. Neal walked down the stairs carrying his son. "Do we have to go… can we just… not go," Neal said as he put Jayden in his high chair. "It's just a Christmas party Neal, how bad can it be?" Peter asked as he looked at the invitation that was sitting on the table. "Your father hates me… unless you forgot the engagement party last week where he referred to me as the marriage ruining queer whore," Neal said as he grabbed his coffee and began to drink it. Peter sighed and put his head in his hands. "Alright, how about we just have my mom and brothers over for a small party; that way they can see Jayden and shower him with gifts and my father won't make your holidays a living hell," Peter remarked as he looked over at Jayden and saw him smile back.<p>

Neal sighed and put his coffee mug down. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you, it's just I'm still having nightmares about everything," Neal said as he got up and walked into the kitchen and got a jar of baby food. "Alright Jayden, I've got some yummy pureed apples," Neal said as he walked back to the dining room and sat beside Jayden's high chair and began to feed his son. Peter got up and put his arms around Neal. "I'm going to the store do you need anything?" Peter asked with a smile. "Diapers, diapers oh and more diapers and some chicken and lemons I'm going to make lemon chicken for dinner tonight," Neal said as he kissed Peter. "Right I got it, diapers, chicken and lemons, I'll be back in a bit," Peter said as he left.

Getting up from the table Neal made sure the front and back doors were locked securely before he felt safe. As he walked back to the table the doorbell rang. Feeling nervous about opening the door Neal stood there for a moment. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" Hughes said as he stood at the door. Neal shook himself back to normal and invited the older agent into his living room. "Sorry about the mess, I didn't really expect to have company over," he said apologizing as he picked Jayden up and saw him smile again. "If you're looking for Peter he just went to the store for more diapers he should be home in a little while," Neal said as he put Jayden down by his toys and sat on the floor to play with him. "You and Burke have really become a family now, have you thought of where you're going to send him when it comes time for school?" Hughes asked making small talk.

"Ravencroft Academy, Nick and I both went to its Greenwich campus so we're sort of alumni even though we dropped out, but they know our families since my parents donate art and money every year," Neal said as he played with his son. "I've heard good things about that school K-12 and ninety-five percent of their students go on to Ivy League schools and that's pretty amazing," Hughes remarked. Neal smiled "Peter and I are hoping for that," Neal said as he watched Jayden play with one of his toys. When Peter returned home he unpacked the car of diapers and food and juggled them as he went into the house. "Neal… I could use a little help," Peter called into the house. Neal left Jayden playing as he went and helped Peter with the bags and took the diapers and carried them all upstairs. Walking into the living room Peter saw his boss sitting on the couch. "Sir…what are you doing here?" Peter asked as he walked into the living room and picked Jayden up and held him close.

Hughes cleared his throat "I came to see how Neal was doing, and to tell you that a lawyer for Vincent Adler came to the office and claimed Kyle's body and he's being moved from his paupers' grave to a private cemetery. Also he left this letter addressed to Neal I thought maybe you would want it to read it first," Hughes said as handed the sealed envelope over to Peter who put it behind a pillow. "I'll read it later when Neal is giving Jayden a bath I don't need him walking in and seeing me with it," Peter said as he kept Jayden from reaching for the hidden envelope. Peter walked his boss to the door and looked at his son and saw him smiling. "Please be a FBI agent when you grow up," Peter said as he shut the front door. Jayden gurgled and made a grab for Peter's chin. Laughing Peter went back to the couch and laid out on it letting Jayden sit on his stomach using it as a seat.

Neal walked back downstairs and found Jayden and Peter both falling asleep for a nap. He decided that this was the perfect time to go for a run since Peter was home. Going upstairs Neal changed and grabbed his spare key on a bungee band and locked the door behind him before he started his run down the sidewalk. As he ran through the neighborhood Neal thought about what kind of party he wanted to throw for the holidays. As he circled around the park and made his way back to the house Neal was sure he knew just what he wanted for the party and made his way home when he got there he slipped inside and found Jayden and Peter asleep on the couch. Just as he was about to head upstairs Neal noticed the edge of an envelope sticking out from under the pillow. Creeping across the room he grabbed it and left the living room in a hurry and went up the stairs to his room and shut the door behind him. Tearing the envelope open Neal grabbed the letter and began to read it.

"Dear Neal…it has come to my attention that you are going to be getting remarried, congratulations are in order I suppose but also I want to apologize for Kyle's actions in kidnapping your son. If you haven't throw this letter out yet then keeps reading please I would like to work with you again someday if you ever get tired of the domestic life use the number below to call my lawyer he will contact me, hope to see you again soon… Vincent," Neal walked over to the trash can on his side of the bed and looked at the letter once more. Reaching down Neal opened his drawer and folded the letter and put it in the first page of the book and closed the drawer before going to take a long hot shower.


End file.
